Final Attack Trail officially opens in Sept

From HAGERSTOWN HERALD-MAIL: Hiking through history uphill: Trail at Antietam to provide real-life experience by The Associated Press The final attack on the

Message 1 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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From HAGERSTOWN HERALD-MAIL:

"Hiking through history uphill: Trail at Antietam to provide real-life experience"
by The Associated Press

The final attack on the bloodiest day of the Civil War was literally an uphill battle. Now a trail at Antietam National Battlefield lets hikers feel the strain that soldiers from both sides experienced marching over hilly farm fields toward a meeting that ended with the Union failing to corner Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. "When you have an opportunity to see the 200-foot change in elevation, when people come out here and walk, they can see the terrain stopped the Union advance as much as the Confederate soldiers did," said Brian Baracz, a park ranger and historian. "You don't get much of an idea from your car."

The Final Attack Trail officially opens next month during a weekend of activities marking the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. More than 23,000 men were killed, wounded or reported missing at the Western Maryland site on Sept. 17, 1862, in the bloodiest one-day clash of the War Between the States. The 1.7-mile trail is the fourth at Antietam. A planned fifth trail will create a network of footpaths across the 3,288-acre park.

The Final Attack Trail winds through a cornfield where the day's last engagement took place, starting at about 3:40 p.m. Lee's 2,800 troops were retreating, aiming to cross the Potomac River to safety. Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside's 8,000 soldiers were moving through the 40-acre cornfield on a course that would cut off Lee's line of retreat. Then Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill arrived from the south with 2,500 troops. Burnside's troops were driven back in a nearly two-hour clash that resulted in 3,470 casualties, according to the park's Web site. There were twice as many Union casualties as Confederate.

The next day, Federal and Confederate leaders struck an informal truce so they could gather their wounded and dying. That evening, Lee began withdrawing his army across the Potomac. The fighting took place on land that remained in private hands until three years ago, when the National Park Service acquired 136 acres of the Shade Farm. The field is dotted with monuments erected by veterans organizations and states with soldiers who fought there. "Most of the troops were from New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio, and we get a lot of letters from folks in those areas wanting to see this. It's really important for them to be able to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers," said Superintendent John Howard.

Tom Shay

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jeff Beckner (PWC Magazine)

Excellent. If it s 1.7 miles, does it start at the river? ... From: TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com [mailto:TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of

"Hiking through history uphill: Trail at Antietam to provide real-life
experience"
by The Associated Press

The final attack on the bloodiest day of the Civil War was literally an
uphill battle. Now a trail at Antietam National Battlefield lets hikers
feel the strain that soldiers from both sides experienced marching over
hilly farm fields toward a meeting that ended with the Union failing to
corner Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. "When you have an opportunity to
see the 200-foot change in elevation, when people come out here and
walk, they can see the terrain stopped the Union advance as much as the
Confederate soldiers did," said Brian Baracz, a park ranger and
historian. "You don't get much of an idea from your car."

The Final Attack Trail officially opens next month during a weekend of
activities marking the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, also
known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. More than 23,000 men were killed,
wounded or reported missing at the Western Maryland site on Sept. 17,
1862, in the bloodiest one-day clash of the War Between the States. The
1.7-mile trail is the fourth at Antietam. A planned fifth trail will
create a network of footpaths across the 3,288-acre park.

The Final Attack Trail winds through a cornfield where the day's last
engagement took place, starting at about 3:40 p.m. Lee's 2,800 troops
were retreating, aiming to cross the Potomac River to safety. Union Gen.
Ambrose Burnside's 8,000 soldiers were moving through the 40-acre
cornfield on a course that would cut off Lee's line of retreat. Then
Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill arrived from the south with 2,500 troops.
Burnside's troops were driven back in a nearly two-hour clash that
resulted in 3,470 casualties, according to the park's Web site. There
were twice as many Union casualties as Confederate.

The next day, Federal and Confederate leaders struck an informal truce
so they could gather their wounded and dying. That evening, Lee began
withdrawing his army across the Potomac. The fighting took place on
land that remained in private hands until three years ago, when the
National Park Service acquired 136 acres of the Shade Farm. The field is
dotted with monuments erected by veterans organizations and states with
soldiers who fought there. "Most of the troops were from New York,
Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio, and we get a lot of letters from
folks in those areas wanting to see this. It's really important for them
to be able to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers," said
Superintendent John Howard.

Tom Shay

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yahoo! Groups Links

G E Mayers

Jeff, IIRC, it starts at the Otto Farm just up from the Burnside Bridge overlook........... Very respectfully, G E Gerry Mayers As an American citizen I

Message 3 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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Jeff,

IIRC, it starts at the Otto Farm just up from the Burnside Bridge
overlook...........

Very respectfully,
G E "Gerry" Mayers

"As an American citizen I prize the Union very highly
and know of no personal sacrifice that I would not make
to preserve it, save that of honour."
--Robt. E. Lee, Letter to Rooney Lee, 3 December 1860

> Excellent. If it's 1.7 miles, does it start at the river?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com [mailto:TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of rotbaron@...
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 6:47 AM
> To: talkantietam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [TalkAntietam] Final Attack Trail officially opens in Sept
>
>>From HAGERSTOWN HERALD-MAIL:
>
> "Hiking through history uphill: Trail at Antietam to provide real-life
> experience"
> by The Associated Press
>
> The final attack on the bloodiest day of the Civil War was literally an
> uphill battle. Now a trail at Antietam National Battlefield lets hikers
> feel the strain that soldiers from both sides experienced marching over
> hilly farm fields toward a meeting that ended with the Union failing to
> corner Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. "When you have an opportunity to
> see the 200-foot change in elevation, when people come out here and
> walk, they can see the terrain stopped the Union advance as much as the
> Confederate soldiers did," said Brian Baracz, a park ranger and
> historian. "You don't get much of an idea from your car."
>
> The Final Attack Trail officially opens next month during a weekend of
> activities marking the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, also
> known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. More than 23,000 men were killed,
> wounded or reported missing at the Western Maryland site on Sept. 17,
> 1862, in the bloodiest one-day clash of the War Between the States. The
> 1.7-mile trail is the fourth at Antietam. A planned fifth trail will
> create a network of footpaths across the 3,288-acre park.
>
> The Final Attack Trail winds through a cornfield where the day's last
> engagement took place, starting at about 3:40 p.m. Lee's 2,800 troops
> were retreating, aiming to cross the Potomac River to safety. Union Gen.
> Ambrose Burnside's 8,000 soldiers were moving through the 40-acre
> cornfield on a course that would cut off Lee's line of retreat. Then
> Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill arrived from the south with 2,500 troops.
> Burnside's troops were driven back in a nearly two-hour clash that
> resulted in 3,470 casualties, according to the park's Web site. There
> were twice as many Union casualties as Confederate.
>
> The next day, Federal and Confederate leaders struck an informal truce
> so they could gather their wounded and dying. That evening, Lee began
> withdrawing his army across the Potomac. The fighting took place on
> land that remained in private hands until three years ago, when the
> National Park Service acquired 136 acres of the Shade Farm. The field is
> dotted with monuments erected by veterans organizations and states with
> soldiers who fought there. "Most of the troops were from New York,
> Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio, and we get a lot of letters from
> folks in those areas wanting to see this. It's really important for them
> to be able to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers," said
> Superintendent John Howard.
>
> Tom Shay
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> a.. Visit your group "TalkAntietam" on the web.
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> TalkAntietam-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
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>

Harry Smeltzer

I took a similar walk this spring, but we took the Snavely Ford trail and came up the ravine from the ford. I would imagine the trail will feature the

Message 4 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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I took a similar walk this spring, but we took the Snavely Ford trail and
came up the ravine from the ford. I would imagine the trail will feature
the refurbished Otto Farm lane and the 40 acre cornfield.

IIRC, it starts at the Otto Farm just up from the Burnside Bridge
overlook...........

Very respectfully,
G E "Gerry" Mayers

"As an American citizen I prize the Union very highly
and know of no personal sacrifice that I would not make
to preserve it, save that of honour."
--Robt. E. Lee, Letter to Rooney Lee, 3 December 1860

> Excellent. If it's 1.7 miles, does it start at the river?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com [mailto:TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of rotbaron@...
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 6:47 AM
> To: talkantietam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [TalkAntietam] Final Attack Trail officially opens in Sept
>
>>From HAGERSTOWN HERALD-MAIL:
>
> "Hiking through history uphill: Trail at Antietam to provide real-life
> experience"
> by The Associated Press
>
> The final attack on the bloodiest day of the Civil War was literally an
> uphill battle. Now a trail at Antietam National Battlefield lets hikers
> feel the strain that soldiers from both sides experienced marching over
> hilly farm fields toward a meeting that ended with the Union failing to
> corner Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. "When you have an opportunity to
> see the 200-foot change in elevation, when people come out here and
> walk, they can see the terrain stopped the Union advance as much as the
> Confederate soldiers did," said Brian Baracz, a park ranger and
> historian. "You don't get much of an idea from your car."
>
> The Final Attack Trail officially opens next month during a weekend of
> activities marking the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, also
> known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. More than 23,000 men were killed,
> wounded or reported missing at the Western Maryland site on Sept. 17,
> 1862, in the bloodiest one-day clash of the War Between the States. The
> 1.7-mile trail is the fourth at Antietam. A planned fifth trail will
> create a network of footpaths across the 3,288-acre park.
>
> The Final Attack Trail winds through a cornfield where the day's last
> engagement took place, starting at about 3:40 p.m. Lee's 2,800 troops
> were retreating, aiming to cross the Potomac River to safety. Union Gen.
> Ambrose Burnside's 8,000 soldiers were moving through the 40-acre
> cornfield on a course that would cut off Lee's line of retreat. Then
> Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill arrived from the south with 2,500 troops.
> Burnside's troops were driven back in a nearly two-hour clash that
> resulted in 3,470 casualties, according to the park's Web site. There
> were twice as many Union casualties as Confederate.
>
> The next day, Federal and Confederate leaders struck an informal truce
> so they could gather their wounded and dying. That evening, Lee began
> withdrawing his army across the Potomac. The fighting took place on
> land that remained in private hands until three years ago, when the
> National Park Service acquired 136 acres of the Shade Farm. The field is
> dotted with monuments erected by veterans organizations and states with
> soldiers who fought there. "Most of the troops were from New York,
> Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio, and we get a lot of letters from
> folks in those areas wanting to see this. It's really important for them
> to be able to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers," said
> Superintendent John Howard.
>
> Tom Shay
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> a.. Visit your group "TalkAntietam" on the web.
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> TalkAntietam-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
>
>

IIRC, it starts at the Otto Farm just up from the Burnside Bridge
overlook...........

Very respectfully,
G E "Gerry" Mayers

"As an American citizen I prize the Union very highly
and know of no personal sacrifice that I would not make
to preserve it, save that of honour."
--Robt. E. Lee, Letter to Rooney Lee, 3 December 1860

> Excellent. If it's 1.7 miles, does it start at the river?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:TalkAntietam@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of rotbaron@...
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 6:47 AM
> To: talkantietam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [TalkAntietam] Final Attack Trail officially opens in Sept
>
>>From HAGERSTOWN HERALD-MAIL:
>
> "Hiking through history uphill: Trail at Antietam to provide real-life
> experience"
> by The Associated Press
>
> The final attack on the bloodiest day of the Civil War was literally
an
> uphill battle. Now a trail at Antietam National Battlefield lets
hikers
> feel the strain that soldiers from both sides experienced marching
over
> hilly farm fields toward a meeting that ended with the Union failing
to
> corner Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. "When you have an opportunity
to
> see the 200-foot change in elevation, when people come out here and
> walk, they can see the terrain stopped the Union advance as much as
the
> Confederate soldiers did," said Brian Baracz, a park ranger and
> historian. "You don't get much of an idea from your car."
>
> The Final Attack Trail officially opens next month during a weekend of
> activities marking the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Antietam,
also
> known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. More than 23,000 men were killed,
> wounded or reported missing at the Western Maryland site on Sept. 17,
> 1862, in the bloodiest one-day clash of the War Between the States.
The
> 1.7-mile trail is the fourth at Antietam. A planned fifth trail will
> create a network of footpaths across the 3,288-acre park.
>
> The Final Attack Trail winds through a cornfield where the day's last
> engagement took place, starting at about 3:40 p.m. Lee's 2,800 troops
> were retreating, aiming to cross the Potomac River to safety. Union
Gen.
> Ambrose Burnside's 8,000 soldiers were moving through the 40-acre
> cornfield on a course that would cut off Lee's line of retreat. Then
> Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill arrived from the south with 2,500 troops.
> Burnside's troops were driven back in a nearly two-hour clash that
> resulted in 3,470 casualties, according to the park's Web site. There
> were twice as many Union casualties as Confederate.
>
> The next day, Federal and Confederate leaders struck an informal truce
> so they could gather their wounded and dying. That evening, Lee began
> withdrawing his army across the Potomac. The fighting took place on
> land that remained in private hands until three years ago, when the
> National Park Service acquired 136 acres of the Shade Farm. The field
is
> dotted with monuments erected by veterans organizations and states
with
> soldiers who fought there. "Most of the troops were from New York,
> Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ohio, and we get a lot of letters from
> folks in those areas wanting to see this. It's really important for
them
> to be able to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers," said
> Superintendent John Howard.
>
> Tom Shay
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> a.. Visit your group "TalkAntietam" on the web.
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> TalkAntietam-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
>
>

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Stephen Recker

I had the pleasure of walking the new tour recently with one of the rangers. It starts at the Burnside Bridge parking lot and heads due West in a bit of a

Message 6 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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I had the pleasure of walking the new tour recently with one of the
rangers. It starts at the Burnside Bridge parking lot and heads due
West in a bit of a zig-zag towards the 11th Ohio monument. From there
it heads toward the 16th CT and then in a big loop back towards the
12th Ohio, north on the Otto Lane about 50 yards and then East though
the fields back to the parking lot.

It doesn't go down to the trail to follow the advance of Rodman - the
route I believe Harry is referring to. That was a really fun walk. We
had to push our way through the bushes. It was exciting being on such
virgin ground. Last time I was down there, though, I believe I saw that
Rodman's path has been carved out through the woods. Those NPS folks
are very busy down there. Many kudos.

It doesn't go down to the trail to follow the advance of Rodman - the
route I believe Harry is referring to. That was a really fun walk. We
had to push our way through the bushes. It was exciting being on such
virgin ground. Last time I was down there, though, I believe I saw that
Rodman's path has been carved out through the woods. Those NPS folks
are very busy down there. Many kudos.

I have found Rufus Dawes to be one of the best narratives about the fight for the Iron Brigade. What is the best narrative for the Irish Brigade at the Sunken

Message 8 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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I have found Rufus Dawes to be one of the best narratives about the
fight for the Iron Brigade.

What is the best narrative for the Irish Brigade at the Sunken Road?
Thanks.

Stephen Recker

rotbaron@aol.com

My favorite is the book MY SONS WERE FAITHFUL AND THEY FOUGHT by Joseph Bilby and Steve O Neill. Admitttedly the maps noting extent of Meagher s left flank

Message 9 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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My favorite is the book MY SONS WERE FAITHFUL AND THEY FOUGHT by Joseph Bilby and Steve O'Neill. Admitttedly the maps noting extent of Meagher's left flank have been argued herein and elsewhere. But it's provides some nice personal accounts and is full of details.

I have found Rufus Dawes to be one of the best narratives about the
fight for the Iron Brigade.

What is the best narrative for the Irish Brigade at the Sunken Road?
Thanks.

Stephen Recker

Yahoo! Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

G E Mayers

Harry, Could you send me disks also? Contact me privately by email if you can........ Very respectfully, G E Gerry Mayers As an American citizen I prize the

Message 10 of 13
, Aug 30, 2005

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Harry,

Could you send me disks also? Contact me privately by email if you
can........

Very respectfully,
G E "Gerry" Mayers

"As an American citizen I prize the Union very highly
and know of no personal sacrifice that I would not make
to preserve it, save that of honour."
--Robt. E. Lee, Letter to Rooney Lee, 3 December 1860